


Unexpected Meetings [Story + Podfic]

by blackglass, idellaphod



Category: Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, Where's Waldo - Martin Handford
Genre: Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Crack Relationships, F/M, Fluff, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28534008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackglass/pseuds/blackglass, https://archiveofourown.org/users/idellaphod/pseuds/idellaphod
Summary: Carmen spots someone unexpected in the crowd. Written by blackglass and performed by blackglass and idella.
Relationships: Carmen Sandiego/Waldo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6
Collections: Voiceteam 2020: Team Red, Voiceteam Mystery Box 2020





	Unexpected Meetings [Story + Podfic]

Length: 7:14  
Download (right-click and save) as an [mp3](https://blackglass.parakaproductions.com/podfic/unexpected%20meetings.mp3). (Thanks to paraka for hosting!) 

Streaming:

Carmen sauntered down the steps of the Met, having completed one last case of the museum before the planned heist tomorrow evening. She blended into the crowds of tourists streaming into Central Park--just another visitor deciding to take in the air on a warm April day. As she strolled around Turtle Pond, she thought she saw a flash of red and white stripes in the crowd out of the corner of her eye. Despite herself, she froze, eyes scanning her surroundings, stomach tightening, not even breathing...it couldn’t be…how many times had she thought she’d seen him only to realize...

But improbably, _astonishingly_ it was. There, appearing out of the crowd as if by magic, was _Waldo_. Her traitorous heart leapt in her chest. He looked exactly the same--the shirt, the hat, the glasses, the cane--and he was making his way to her unerringly, flowing through the throngs of pedestrians with ease.

For a fleeting moment, Carmen considered running, before discarding the thought, firming her stance and lifting her chin. 

At last, he came to a stop in front of her, solemn eyes behind those thick rimmed glasses looking her up and down, assessing. There was silence for a moment. Then...

“I really didn’t expect to see you here,” he said quietly. 

Carmen tilted her head at him. “Didn’t you?”

“No,” he said plainly, eyes boring into hers, refusing to let her play coy. “Because when I woke up alone in Prague you didn’t leave anything behind, not even a hair. I had no idea where in the world you’d gone.”

It had all been part of their game: for years now, she’d leave him clues about where and when she planned to meet him next; when he figured them out, he’d travel there, hanging around in the crowds, waiting for her to spot him. And when she did, they’d...well. 

But then Prague, where she had indeed stolen away in the early hours of the morning without a trace.

“Why?” he asked, voice so quiet she almost couldn’t hear him. There was no hostility in the word, just a plaintive plea to _understand_. 

She swallowed. “I think you know why.”

Because he’d gotten too close. Because Carmen was coming to the realization that it wasn’t just a game--not anymore. Because he was the only man who had ever truly _seen_ her, who’d understood exactly how her mind worked. And like a frightened hare, she’d bolted. 

He simply _looked_ at her, and she held his gaze, hiding nothing from him. What was the point? Somehow, he always found her. And he deserved this much from her at least.

She could see it the moment he understood, the complicated joy and wary hope blooming across his face, and she felt unaccountably weak with relief even as part of her cringed away at the mortification of being known. 

He licked his lips. "Want some company?" he asked, carefully, inclining his head towards the path. 

"Please,” she said, and it was the most honest she’d ever been in the many years they’d known each other. 

They fell into step together, maintaining a studied distance so that they wouldn’t brush against each other accidentally--their usual modus operandi when they were out in public. Which was why it came as such a shock when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in tight against his side, ducking his head as if to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. 

“ACME Detective, just ahead,” he breathed.

Carmen’s adrenaline spiked. Foolish. Absolutely foolish of her not to have noticed. But there wasn’t time for recrimination. She willed herself to relax into his side, to giggle and look up at him as if she were nothing more than a woman in love. 

“Excuse me, sir, ma’am!” 

Carmen bit back a curse. Why? _Why_ was this her luck today of all days?

The detective jogged over to them, flashing his ACME badge. “Can I ask you some questions?”

Waldo blinked at him. “Whatever for?” he asked, utterly guileless, and Carmen couldn’t have been more proud. 

The detective blinked back at him. “I just wanted to ask if you’d seen--” He paused and blinked again. “--if you’d seen--” He stopped again, then squinted, as if he were having trouble focusing on Waldo’s face. 

Waldo tended to have that effect on people. (But never her.)

“Seen what?” asked Waldo, all innocence. 

The detective shook his head. His eyes looked glazed over. “I...I’m not sure--” His eyes darted around, seemingly unable to settle, until they caught on Carmen. They narrowed, some clarity seeming to return to his gaze. “Say…” he said, frowning. “You seem a little familiar…”

“This is my wife, Wanda,” Waldo cut in. The detective’s eyes snapped back to his and a haze came over them again. “I’m awful sorry, detective, but I don’t know if we can help you. We’re just tourists, I’m sure we don’t know anything.”

“Right, right,” said the detective vaguely, already starting to look past Waldo. “So sorry to bother you...have a nice day…” And he ambled off in a stupor. 

Waldo kept her tucked against his side as they walked as fast as they could without arousing suspicion, trying to put some distance between them and the detective before he came back to his senses. 

“You’ve gotten very good at that,” she murmured to him as she surreptitiously scanned the crowd for more ACME agents. 

“At what?” 

“Lying.” She darted a look at him out of the corner of her eye.

He turned to look down at her, looking almost startled. Then he smiled. “Was I though?”

**Author's Note:**

> Created for the "Audio Garden" challenge for Voiceteam Mystery Box 2020.


End file.
